Something about Emily Henry's books always gives me a sense of déjà vu. It's this almost nostalgic feeling of reading a new-to-you book that feels so familiar. It makes for a really comforting reading experience.

It's hard to explain, but Great Big Beautiful Life gave me that feeling and at the same time kept me on the edge of my seat. It's very different from Emily Henry's other romances, because there's more of a plot outside of the romance. We delve into a famous family's secret-filled history, and the more we unravel, the more compelling the story becomes.

The way Emily Henry combines her signature romance that we've come to know and love with all these unravelling family secrets that keep your eyes glued to the page is so impressive to me. Both the romance and the family history get all the attention and depth they deserve. This is still very clearly a romance novel, and such a good one too, and I felt absolutely consumed by the romance and how much I loved Hayden. But the family history adds so much to this story, it all just clicks together in a way that makes so much sense.

Emily Henry has done it again! Absolutely adored this story and the writing. She has become an auto-buy author for me since I read Beach Read a few years ago, and while I’ve loved all her books, none of them have surpassed that first read as my favourite of hers - until now. I devoured this book within 24 hours - it made me feel, laugh and cry. The storyline was paced really well and kept me engaged throughout. The romance of it all was a highlight but didn’t overly dominate or feel unrealistic. I was truly rooting for Alice and Hayden and enjoyed getting to know them both. I loved the overall plot and the elements of mystery which came from Margaret’s story. The way it was depicted worked really well in the book and I thought helped everything unfold perfectly. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I’m so glad to say it deserves all the stars, highly recommend!

Margrete Ives, a tragic heiress, tabloid princess and daughter of one of the most storied families of the 20th century. She’s ready to tell her story but needs help putting it into words. That’s where Alice and Hayden come into the picture. Margret is a tough nut to crack but she has a month to figure out what she’s hiding. So the only thing standing between Alice getting her big break is big break is Hayden. Giving into their attraction isn’t an option.

Emily Henry is an incredible author and I’m sure this book will be loved by many readers. But I’m not one of them this time around. Hear me out.

The story centers around the mcs competing for the opportunity to write a biography. They sign NDAs which makes it difficult for them to open up and get to know one another. And the other thing I struggled with was the change between present and Martha’s story.

That aside there are plenty of things I liked too. The setting is lovely, the mcs reconnecting with their families (especially Alice and her mother) and the mystery that is Martha Ives. She’s a memorable character with an interesting story to tell. Even though it’s not as interesting as Evelyn Hugo’s, if you know you know.

My expectations were high and unfortunately I didn’t end up loving this one. Although I encourage everyone to create their own opinion and look forward to hearing what everyone else thinks about it.

Read this if you like
📖Workplace romance
🔥Slow burn
🧡Rivals to lovers
🏝️Small town

Another smash from Emily Henry… How does she keep doing it?! I loved this book from beginning to end. The theme of truth and deception threaded throughout, with some sections of the book written in third person, was new and different for this author - but it worked brilliantly, almost turning this novel into a romance-slash-mystery. Twistier than EmHen’s usual fare, this book contained a couple of surprises. One, I saw coming, while the other I did NOT see coming! Overall, another smart, sexy, sure-to-be hit that I’ll heartily recommend.

The first thing that is immediately noticeable with Great Big Beautiful Life is that it's different from Henry's previous works. This story leans equally into women's fiction, and romance - the romance between Alice and Hayden exists in parallel to the compelling and prominent Ives family saga.
There is no lack of depiction of love in GBBL. Through the family saga of Margaret Ives, we witness the kinds of love (and lack of) that span multiple generations of a family, and outside of that, we see how Alice and Hayden gravitate towards each other, linked through this biography they are competing to write.
And in signature Emily Henry manner, the love story between Alice and Hayden packs a punch: those pages are filled with conversations that are ripe with tension, and yearning for a love that's absolutely undeniable.
I loved both parts of this story: the Ives family story which made me feel transported, and the romance that naturally unfurled between Alice and Hayden.
Sidenote: the love confession made me tear up. Hayden, especially, because he was so very much his no-nonsense, blunt, honest self, that I melted.

Thank you to Viking Books UK for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

An interesting read, Alice and Hayden are drawn together as the are both given the chance to write the story of Margaret Ives a reclusive heiress but which one will she choose and is she really telling them the truth. I love novels like these where they go back and you learn the history there are so many layers to uncover and this one doesn't disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed it